Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $447.11 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,726,772 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 568,335 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips makes up approximately 1.1% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.38% of ConocoPhillips worth $447,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COP. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $707,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 190.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,664,408 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $484,539,000 after buying an additional 3,058,505 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 31.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,778,664 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $966,267,000 after buying an additional 2,575,803 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 145.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,933,286 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $263,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740,009 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6,156.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,508,169 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $135,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director William H. Mcraven acquired 5,768 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at $499,970.24. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Capital One Financial boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.08.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of COP stock opened at $91.85 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $106.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 47.52%.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.